PLA by John Deere

What PLA by John Deere does

PLA by John Deere is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Deere & Company (NYSE: DE) that manufactures agricultural sprayers, planters, and crop-protection equipment for farmers in Brazil and Argentina. The business traces its origins to PLA (Pulverizadores Agrícolas), founded in Argentina in 1988, and was acquired by John Deere in 2018; it now operates two manufacturing facilities in Canoas, Rio Grande do Sul (Brazil) and Las Rosas (Argentina), with 101-250 employees. The product portfolio spans self-propelled sprayers (models 1025E, 4630, M4025, 230M, 430R, 440R, M4030, M4040), the GreenSystem sub-brand of trailed and mounted sprayers (PV Pecuária, PV1006, PV1008, PV1020), self-propelled and trailed dry nutrient applicators (M4040DN, 400R DN, DN1106), and the Hagie 204SP self-propelled detasseler, supported by John Deere's precision-agriculture ecosystem including the StarFire 7500 GNSS receiver, G5/G5Plus monitors, JDLink telematics modems, the Operations Center cloud platform, ExactApply nozzle control, and CommandDrive hydrostatic transmission.

Underlying technology emphasizes precision application: ExactApply provides individual-nozzle control with turn compensation, See & Spray Select enables computer-vision-based targeted herbicide application, and the M4040DN dry nutrient applicator shares approximately 90% of parts commonality with the M4040 sprayer platform. The Pacote Essencial de Agricultura de Precisão package bundles StarFire 7500, G5/G5Plus Universal monitor, and JDLink Modem M/R with optional annual subscriptions for AutoTrac, section control, and SF-RTK signal correction at +/- 2.5cm accuracy, supporting a recurring-software revenue layer on top of hardware sales.

PLA by John Deere's business model is hardware sales of agricultural equipment, distributed exclusively through Deere & Company's authorized dealer network across Brazil and Latin America, with pricing handled at the dealer level and not publicly disclosed. The end customer is fragmented agricultural producers needing equipment for crop protection, nutrient application, and planting operations; revenues are consolidated into Deere & Company's agricultural segment rather than reported on a stand-alone PLA basis. Marketing leverages John Deere's brand presence, dealer communications, agricultural trade shows, and digital platforms including the John Deere Brazil website. The PLA sub-brand is retained for category-specific product identity (sprayers and planters) while inheriting John Deere's global brand equity, dealer infrastructure, and precision-agriculture technology stack.

Name

PLA by John Deere

Legal name

John Deere Brasil Ltda.

Website

https://pla.com.br

Company type

Public

Founded year

2018

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

PLA by John Deere is a Brazilian-Argentine manufacturer of agricultural sprayers, planters, and nutrient applicators, acquired by Deere & Company in 2018 and distributed exclusively through John Deere's authorized dealer network across Latin America.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Agricultural Machinery

NAICS

Farm Machinery and Equipment Manufacturing (333111), Agricultural Implement Manufacturing (33311)

SIC

Farm Machinery & Equipment (3523)

akta.pro primary industry

Crop Protection & Application Equipment (Sprayers/Spreaders) (IMAHACAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

Precision Agriculture & Farm Technology Equipment (IMAHACAH), Field & Orchard Sprayers (Boom, Airblast, Spot Sprayers) (AFAAADAA), Potato & Specialty Crop Planters (Potato, Garlic, Sugarcane) (AFAAABAJ)

Keywords

• Agricultural sprayers
• Crop protection equipment
• Nutrient applicators
• Self-propelled sprayers
• Agricultural machinery

Headquarters

HQ city

Canoas, RS

HQ country

Brazil

HQ region

Latin America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Operations, Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Agricultural Equipment Sales: PLA generates revenue through the manufacture and sale of agricultural sprayers, planters, and related equipment to farmers and agricultural producers. Following John Deere's 2018 acquisition, revenues are consolidated under John Deere's agricultural segment.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

PLA by John Deere manufactures agricultural sprayers, planters, and related equipment—including self-propelled and trailed sprayers, dry nutrient applicators, and a self-propelled corn detasseler—primarily for farmers and agricultural producers in Brazil and Latin America. The equipment is integrated with proprietary precision agriculture technologies such as ExactApply, See & Spray Select, StarFire GNSS receivers, JDLink telematics, and the John Deere Operations Center cloud platform, and is sold exclusively through John Deere's authorized dealer network.

Product overview

PLA by John Deere is a product line of agricultural sprayers, planters, and equipment that became part of John Deere's portfolio following the company's acquisition of PLA (Pulverizadores Agrícolas) in 2018, with manufacturing facilities in Canoas (RS), Brazil and Las Rosas, Argentina. The portfolio is organized around self-propelled sprayers (models 1025E, 4630, M4025, 230M, 430R, 440R, M4030, M4040), trailed and mounted GreenSystem sprayers (PV Pecuária, PV1006, PV1008, PV1020), self-propelled dry nutrient applicators (M4040DN, 400R DN), and the GreenSystem DN1106 trailed nutrient applicator. The Hagie 204SP detasseling machine rounds out the specialty equipment range. Supporting the equipment lineup is a precision agriculture ecosystem including the StarFire 7500 receiver, G5/G5Plus Universal monitors, JDLink modems, and the John Deere Operations Center cloud platform, all available through the Pacote Essencial de Agricultura de Precisão package.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• 1025E Self-Propelled Sprayer Self-propelled agricultural sprayer with steel boom sizes of 24, 27, or 30m, 2,500L tank capacity, and 1.60m ground clearance, designed for crop protection and nutrient application on commercial farms.
• 4630 Self-Propelled Sprayer Self-propelled sprayer with steel boom sizes of 24 or 27m, 2,300L tank capacity, and 1.27m ground clearance, for crop protection applications.
• M4025 Self-Propelled Sprayer Self-propelled sprayer with 27m steel or 30 and 36m carbon fiber boom options, featuring optional ExactApply precision spraying technology.
• 230M Self-Propelled Sprayer Self-propelled sprayer with 27m steel, 30m and 36m carbon fiber booms, 3,000L tank, standard INC and optional INC Pro and ExactApply systems, 1.70m ground clearance, 2.70m to 3.30m track width.
• 430R Self-Propelled Sprayer Self-propelled sprayer with 30m and 36m steel, 36m carbon fiber and 40m hybrid boom options, 3,000L tank, supporting Conventional, INC, INC Pro and ExactApply systems, 1.7m or optional 1.9m ground clearance.
• 440R Self-Propelled Sprayer Self-propelled sprayer with 4,000L tank capacity, for large-scale crop protection operations.
• M4030 Self-Propelled Sprayer Self-propelled sprayer with 27m and 30m steel or 36m carbon fiber boom, 3,000L tank, 1.70m ground clearance.
• M4040 Self-Propelled Sprayer Self-propelled sprayer with 30m steel or 36m carbon fiber boom and 4,000L tank capacity.
• PV Pecuária GreenSystem Pull-Type Sprayer Pull-type sprayer for livestock applications with up to 11m spray width and 400L or 600L tank capacity.
• PV1006 GreenSystem Mounted Boom Sprayer Mounted boom sprayer with 12 to 16 meter boom and 600L tank capacity for tractor-mounted crop spraying operations.
• PV1008 / PV1008L GreenSystem Mounted Boom Sprayer Mounted boom sprayer with 14 to 20 meter boom and 800L tank capacity.
• PV1020 GreenSystem Trailed Boom Sprayer Trailed boom sprayer with 18 to 20 meter boom and 2,000L tank capacity for row-crop applications.
• M4040DN Drybox Self-Propelled Dry Nutrient Applicator Self-propelled dry nutrient applicator with New Leader DN460 6m3 box, 1.52m ground clearance, dual feed gate system, and up to 36m spreading width; shares 90% of parts commonality with the M4040 sprayer.
• 400R DN Self-Propelled Dry Nutrient Applicator Self-propelled dry nutrient applicator with up to 6m3/8 ton box capacity, 36m spreading width, integrated scales, LED light package, CommandDrive transmission, and optional manual or electric tarp.
• DN1106 GreenSystem Trailed Nutrient Applicator Trailed nutrient applicator with G4 distribution technology from New Leader, 6m3 stainless steel 304 box, applies lime up to 18m and nutrients up to 30m, ISOBUS/GreenStar Rate Controller compatible, 100-125cv power requirement.
• 204SP Hagie Self-Propelled Corn Detasseler Self-propelled detasseling machine with John Deere 4.5L Tier 3 engine producing 173hp, 195.6cm ground clearance, pneumatic independent suspension, QuickTach implement quick-change system, and toolbar configurations for 4-1/4-2 detasseling patterns.

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• John DeereflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2018In 2018, John Deere acquired PLA, a Brazilian manufacturer of sprayers, planters, and agricultural equipment. The acquisition integrated PLA's specialized equipment portfolio into John Deere's agricultural solutions, expanding John Deere's manufacturing footprint in South America with facilities in Canoas (Brazil) and Las Rosas (Argentina).

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• CNH Industrial (Case IH / New Holland): Major global ag-equipment manufacturer with strong Latin American presence in tractors, sprayers and planters under Case IH and New Holland brands; competes broadly with John Deere/PLA at the dealer and application-equipment level.
• John Deere (Deere & Company): Parent company and ultimate owner of PLA; comparable as the entity that defines PLA's competitive set, owns the technology stack (Operations Center, JDLink, See & Spray), and sets distribution strategy across Latin America.
• AGCO Corporation (incl. Massey Ferguson, Valtra, GSI, Hagie): Global agricultural equipment OEM whose Hagie brand is a direct self-propelled sprayer competitor to PLA's lineup; AGCO's broader portfolio (tractors, combines, application equipment) competes with PLA/Deere across the Deere Brazil range.
• Mahindra & Mahindra (Farm Equipment Sector): Global agricultural-machinery group (tractor-led) with growing presence in sprayers and planters; overlaps with PLA at the application-equipment level in emerging markets and provides a useful valuation/scale benchmark for a niche ag-machinery OEM.

Emerging players

• Bühler Industries (incl. Farm King, Allied): Manufacturer of agricultural equipment (sprayers, loaders, tillage) with growing North American and international distribution; partial overlap with PLA's trailed sprayers and nutrient-application equipment.

Direct peers

• Jacto: Brazilian (São Paulo-based) manufacturer of sprayers, coffee harvesters, and precision-agriculture products. Directly comparable to PLA on self-propelled and trailed sprayers for Latin American crop producers, with overlapping dealer networks and a precision-agriculture portfolio of its own.
• Amazone (Amazonen-Werke): German manufacturer of crop-protection sprayers, fertilizer spreaders and seed drills with European-anchored but globally distributed product platform; comparable in target customer (large arable farmers) and product (boom sprayers, ISOBUS-enabled control).
• Stara: Brazilian family-owned manufacturer of self-propelled sprayers, planters, spreaders and agricultural implements; closest direct competitor to PLA in the Brazilian crop-protection/planting market with overlapping product categories sold through a regional dealer footprint.
• Hardi (now part of Kverneland/AGCO orbit): Specialist manufacturer of crop-protection sprayers (mounted, trailed, self-propelled); directly comparable product platform to PLA's GreenSystem and self-propelled lines and a frequent reference point for sprayer technology benchmarks globally.
• Kuhn (Kuhn Group, subsidiary of Bucher Industries): French/global manufacturer of planting, spraying and tillage equipment with a Latin American distribution presence; overlaps with PLA's planter and sprayer lines and competes at the application/planting equipment level.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/plabrasil

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about PLA by John Deere